The Rebel Sleuths
A Mystery The Harem Room. The prize room of the Akatsuki Building, accessible only to Jason and his haremettes. Normally, the privilege of sleeping with Jason was usually restricted to Wendy solely, and, sure enough, she was curled up against Jason sleeping soundly. However, the bed was noticeably large, and Vivian, Iris, Olivia, Ichigo and Ringo were sleeping around Jason as well. Chelia was sleeping next to a feminine figure with pink hair, and honestly, while it looked cluttered, they all seemed content. Vivian's eyes fluttered open; she seemed to be in a daze as she hopped straight up, as if she were yanked by a puppeteer's string. She wasn't sure to think- these past couple of days had been rather hectic. More competition had arrived, which Jason quickly sorted out- and worst of all, that azure-haired demon woman had shown up and attacked her! Vivian clutched her head in exhaustion, sighing, "...Ugh. This has just gotten more and more insane..." At times like this, she wondered why she was here in the first place. As she hastily stepped out of the bed, clad in a sleek white nightgown, Vivian wandered off. That throbbing sensation pulsating in her head would not cease. Wandering outside, she noticed a certain azure haired woman sitting on the guild roof, glancing up at the sky. She seemed to be troubled- scratch that, she was always troubled, from what Vivian could tell. Without the woman noticing a thing, Vivian snaked up next to her. "...Hi, look..." Gaikou turned away and crossed her arms while beginning to shuffle away slightly. "Quiet! I don't want to hear your meaningless words, you bitch. You're the reason why that person died...! I won't forgive you, ever!" Vivian paused for a second. "...What? Can't I even say 'hello' without you flipping out at me?" Vivian seemed a mix between perplexed and pissed off. Attempting to get off on a better term with her, Vivian continued, "...You're such a rabbit, you know that? I think I'll call you Usagaikou." Gaikou clicked her tongue in exasperation before shouting at Vivian, "...The hell did you just say!? My name is Gaikou Ryuusei- it means Victory Shine Meteor! Don't you dare demote me into an idiot like the rest of your friends, got it!?" Vivian turned to leave very quickly, muttering under her breath, "For a rabbit, you're not very cute..." "It's only 4 in the morning and you two are arguing?" A small voice sounded from up in a tree. Looking down on them was Len, who was sitting up in the tree branch, illuminated from the light of his Archive magic, from which screens were surrounding him. "Vivian, Master wants to help Gaikou. Shouldn't you at least be nicer? The same would apply to you Gaikou. Our Master is going out of his way to help with your killer case, at least be nicer to Vivian, since she is one of the girls he loves dearly." Gaikou shot Len a fierce glare, barely acknowledging his presence; it was as if he were a mere fly buzzing around her. "Shut up. You never know when this guy could attack any of you, so at least give me free reigns on what I say and do. It's your choice whether you guys wanna die or not." She really was stuck-up and haughty, no matter how one spliced it. Gaikou suddenly stood up and began to storm off angrily; she was incredibly hard to get along with- Vivian felt as if the chances of them striking up a friendship would be almost nill; and she wasn't too thrilled with it. Vivian rubbed the back of her head, muttering to Len, "...We can't just mind screw her into becoming friendlier, can we...?" "Well, you are Master's treasure..." He mulled it over, before typing quickly. "Since he treasures you, I'll be happy to help since it would make you happy, which would make Master happy." Words flashed across his screen and Len's face lit up in a way that wasn't related to the light. "Surprisingly, there is. I can transfer the spell directly to you if you actually want to make her friendlier...the drawback is she'll become sexually attracted to the caster, i.e. you. So...if you have nothing against that..." He smiled, showing his white teeth. Vivian immediately freaked out. "N-No way-! It was a joke a-anyway..." she was flustered for some reason, amusingly. "...I don't want anything like that, even so..." She sighed and relaxed for a second. "...Anyway, Len really is a good boy. You're a lifesaver, I assure you..." "Thank you." Len smiled, and it was oddly girlish. There was something off about this boy. "I'm just happy to help." His screens vanished as he slid off the tree branch, landing next Vivian. "Oh, by the way. Someone told me to deliver a message to you." He handed her an envelop, marked with a giant E''. "It's still early, I'm going to turn in." He headed back into the guild. Vivian couldn't help but remain in a certain state of surprise; it was that baboon masked guy again. She clicked her tongue in exasperation- she couldn't really open the letter without Jason's consent is what she thought, as she ran after Len rather quickly, overtaking him and running up to Jason, who was fast asleep, calling his name. "Oi, you! That baboon guy sent us a letter again--!" As Jason jerked away, the entire room also woke up due to Vivian's loud voice, all except Wendy and Chelia, possibly because they were the youngest, who woke up, looked around drowsily, and dozed back off to sleep next to each other. Jason groaned, as Olivia frowned. "Vivian, why are you shouting? It's 4 AM!" She was grinding her teeth sleepily. Her hair was everywhere, and her sleeping gown, see-through already, was dangling off a shoulder. Mary looked over at Vivian. "Onē-chan has a letter!" Jason groaned again. "Vivian, let me see it..." Vivian calmly handed him the letter, though by her jumping up and down movements fully revealed her nervousness; "Open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it," she took a deep breath. "Open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it open it-!" Jason pulled Vivian in, kissing her to silence her while he ripped the red envelope open. Breaking their contact, his eyes slid down the note. "It says "Would you like a hand?". What is he playing at?" Vivian immediately began to fret. Along with the standard 'he's up to something', several other options also popped up in her mind. "...Maybe he wants to give us help or something? I mean, that's what 'would you like a hand' generally means...." She was so damn confused; though with her intelligence it was exceedingly often that she was confused. "No...." Jason murmured. "I mean...it's possible...but it's not his style. This is a riddle of some sort." Vivian pressed her finger to her lip in thought. "...Dammit. I'm not good at riddles." Of course she wasn't; she was never too smart to begin with. "...Anyone else good with riddles?" "It's not really a riddle with no hints." Olivia yawned, straightening her blouse, apparently only noticing it after the past three minutes. "The message very well could be a joke. You said Mr. E is the type to deliberately mess with an individual, right?" Jason nodded. "That would be an understatement, but yes." Mary took the letter, and looked over it. "There's nothing else here. Maybe Mr. E just got bored?" "But that's not how he works." Jason replied, running a hand through his hair, trying to think. He looked at the clock. "And now it's five. We're not going to get anywhere like this." Vivian couldn't help but shrug her shoulders. "...Great. Just effin' great. We're up shit creek without a paddle..." She was up shit creek a while ago with Iris, straight in the rapids. It was a horrible thing to remember. Jason sighed, and tucked the letter into a drawer. "Either way, there's nothing to be done. Besides, we have work to do today." Memory in Battle Jason was standing by the door of the Guild, tapping his foot. They were on a tight schedule, and yet Iris, Olivia, and eve Gaikou insisted on keeping him waiting for whatever reason. "And Gaikou was rushing me not half an hour ago...." Iris buzzed back and forth as if she were a bee. "...Come on, come on, come on-! We don't have time to waste..." Of course they didn't, but still, she loved stating the obvious. Gaikou suddenly trudged down the stairs of the guild with an unamused expression. "...Right, right. The first thing is, we need to look for clues. If one of you finds the bastard, then alert me ''immediately." She was completely serious about this- she wanted to take the bastard down with her own two hands. Olivia smiled as she walked over to where Jason was. "Molly and Ulalia can handle the bar duties without me. Molly is a good waitress and...well, I think Ulalia's meds are on her today." Wendy walked over to Jason, looking upset. "Why can't I come along too?" She asked, looking up at Jason and then her eyes flickered to the three girls going along with him. Jealousy was seemingly her specialty. Jason bent down to look at her. "Don't worry. I'll be back in awhile. We're just going on a small investigation, but Gaikou did say it's supposed to be a killer. I know you're strong, but I don't want you near that yet." "But-!" Jason kissed her forehead, smiling a surprisingly tender smile. This smile was usually reserved for Wendy herself, and it put her at ease. "Just sit back here with Chelia. You like her just as much as much as me. Relax, we'll be back." Wendy nodded, and Yasaka tugged on her hand, pulling her back. Len tossed Jason a minor communication device. "Master, use that if you need to ask me for any information. I have Archive on stand-by." Jason caught it, plugging it into his ear. "Thanks." Gaikou focused her sights on the road ahead. "Yeah, yeah. No time for bullcrap emotions like that. Let's just make a show of this and put the pedal to the mettle. I'm sick of waiting around-" Iris questioned, "Then why did you keep us waiting-?" Gaikou paused and then applied her palm to her head in exasperation. "D'oh. ...Shut up and just roll with it, dumbasses." ---- "So...." Jason muttered as they stepped out of the water portal that took them back to Earthland. "What else do you know about this supposed "killer" you've been mentioning?" Olivia looked in Gaikou's direction. "That is a good question. Do you have any additional critical information?" Gaikou began to think. "W...Well, for one, he prefers younger women. He usually attacks at night, but some people have spotted him at day...The area he usually attacks at is around the mostly populated houses." Iris blinked. "...So, he's like the bed intruder?" Gaikou smacked her across the back of the head, hard enough to knock her to the ground. "...Shut up and don't be stupid." Jason bent down, extending his hand to Iris. Of course he'd help her, she was as close to him as everyone else. And besides, she was pretty much his pet. Iris rolled around for a few seconds before happily accepting his hand- she was extremely excited to actually be around him. "Thankies~" Gaikou crossed her arms and pretended as if nothing had happened; "ANYWAY, idiocy aside, I say we all go in groups of two. I'll go with that orange haired fool to search the upper part of town, and Iris and that blonde-haired witch will go the lower part. In two hours if we've found nothing, we report back here? Capiche?" Jason flashed Gaikou a hard look. "Gaikou, Olivia and Iris are in my guild. Therefore, I am in charge. We'll take that your suggestion, but please know where you stand." Olivia chuckled. She liked this side of Jason. Gaikou shot Jason a pretty irked glare. "...Shut up, you damn fool. I'm the only one who knows about this bastard, and by god I will have my way-" Iris hopped up and covered her mouth, preventing Gaikou from hurling obscenities at Jason. "Ehehehehe, I think she's done with talking. So, now what?" "Like I said, we'll take her suggestion." Jason replied. "So, Gaikou, you're with me then. Iris, Olivia, you head to the lower part of the town. And Iris, this is an order from me. Behave." Iris pulled a smile that appeared similar to a colon and a three close together, ':3' it was. "Awwwwwwright--!" Gaikou just rolled her eyes and grabbed Jason's arm, growling, "...Come on. We've got lots of work to do, you damn fool." She dragged Jason by the arm, towards the upper part of town; she had a permanent frown affixed upon her face. "...Now, you need to be extremely caution. You'll never find a worse wretched hive of scum and villainy here." Jason slid his arm out of her grip easily. "Calm down. We're not even searching on real clues yet. Don't go charging off into this, you'll fall flat on your face like you did when you challenged us." Gaikou ignored his words; snarling back, "Oh, just shut it. You've annoyed me enough already. All you are is just a hand-dandy tool I can use to catch and kill this bastard with my own bare hands." She paused. "There, I said it. Is that blunt enough or not? Come on then." Jason remained calm. "You asked for our help, you will take my advice when it is given." He moved his hand through his hair. "I didn't agree to help you just so I could deal with a spoiled child. Even Iris knows when to behave." Gaikou clicked her tongue in exasperation. "...Tch. Damn idiot, just do what I say-" she stopped herself from going into a rant. "...Fine then. I'll do what you say like a good girl," she thought to herself, "Lessee how for using him like a pawn with my charm can get me." before continuing in a false cutesy tone, "...E-Erm, sorry...! I'm not a morning person, ehehehe..." Jason chuckled dryly. She was trying to lead him on, he was quite aware of that. But he needed he to behave, so he would play along. "Really? Well, neither is Vivian, so I guess it's fine. I just want to take this easy. We're not running on anything but blind assumptions, even with your knowledge, you don't know who he is. All I want is for us to be careful." Gaikou sighed. "You're right, I guess." She felt her cute tone slipping now and again; which she desparately attempted to keep up. "...You can never be too cautious with things like this; and all we can do is ask around..." She let out a deep sigh from the bottom of her throat. "...Anyway, we'll both search houses together- I feel if we sepearated for even a brief second, he'd ensnare us in his web and then kill us without a second to waste..." "Good girl..." Jason replied, and he led her into the upper half of the city. ---- "I'm surprised, Iris." Olivia said, looking at her partner as they entered the lower city. "You are being very well behaved. I've only been with you guys for a few months, do you really heed your master that well?" Iris's ears bopped up and down repeatedly as if registering this message. "...Yeppers~!" Hell, she'd basically do whatever Jason said- except jump off a cliff. And even then, she'd think about it. "I'd follow him to the ends of the earth-" she paused. "-Except if Viv said no, I'd think about it." Olivia smiled, and brought Iris closer in a sort of friendly-hug. "I'm glad I joined Akatsuki. You guys are really close, though the harem that I got...kind of forced into, courtesy of you, is closer still. You guys value each other, I like that." She squeezed Iris' tighter still. Iris seemed to enjoy this feeling- the sensation of Olivia's firm bosom pushing against her face was excellent. Iris purred like a cat rather contently. "...We are...well, one big upcoming family after all~" "So, how should we handle this?" Olivia asked, letting the girl go. "Jason said you have good intuition, and are often right. So, I'm going to trust your intuition here. We have to get some information, but asking random people...it won't get us anywhere." Iris pressed her pointer finger to her lip, immersed in deep thought. The image of a monkey writing on the blackboard could easily be visualized by Olivia. "...Righty-o~ Hmmm" she couldn't think to save her life. "Alright, I think we should try and find out where he attacked last for clues~" "Well that should be easy enough." Olivia replied. "I think some people would have common knowledge of killings committed at least. Then again..." She looked over at Iris. "You're obviously half-animal. Does your nose work in situations like this? Perhaps to find blood?" Iris' senses perked up. "yeah, it does. But the problem is that we'd been looking for dried blood- something that's not easily found. So, I need to try and visualize what I want to find, and the senses will do the rest of the work." Being a squirrelkin really was handy. "Three...two...one...." she shut off her other senses; and focused solely on the scent of dried blood. "...Follow me!" Iris quickly dashed off, with Olivia in tow, before reaching the park in a matter of moments. It seemed that nothing was wrong, as Iris slowly approached the tree in the center. "It's there!" Olivia looked over the tree. It was a normal looking tree. There wasn't even a hallow inside, the trunk was absolutely solid. She frowned. "What could be in here? It seems solid all the through." Iris circled around the tree for a few moments, "Alright, lessee here..." She then put on a determined expression and swung her fist at the trunk, causing the bark and wood to practically shatter as she immediately jumped back...and threw up at the sight. Corpses. Mangled corpses. She witnessed about a dozen them. Formerly beautiful young women, now, their eyes hanging out, arms and legs missing, being stuck in another's mouth. Blood smeared all over the inner hollow of the trees and the naked bodies. Guts ripped out, wrapped around their necks, arms, and legs. Some of the corpses were missing toes and fingers. Flies were buzzing around the mangled, helpless bodies. Olivia gasped, and quickly crumpled to the ground in shock. "...B-bodies...this....it's..." She was mumbling, completely taken by surprised from this sight. The scent of death filled her nostrils, and she was shaking, her eyes quivering. Iris continued to inch back slightly, shivering. "...This is..." She was right; it was far worse than she imagined. What exactly had they gotten themselves into? "...We need to find angry lady and Master straight away!" ---- "Well, it seems people know that there's a killer around..." Jason murmured. He and Gaikou were sitting on a bench outside of a restaurant in town, mulling over clues they had gathered. Admittedly, there were barely any. "The problem is that's all they know..." Gaikou snarled. "...Damn idiots. I bet they'd be willing to reveal more if I threatened their lives..." a sinister idea was playing in her head, one which she was fully ready to put into motion.... "Well now..." A cheerful, almost goading voice came from their side. A man was walking over towards them, clad in a odd suit and wearing a hat that concealed a bit of his eyes, though his green hair and wide grin were visible. "What a strange conversation the Master is having." As he reached them, he placed his hand on Gaikou's shoulder. Jason watched this action, frowning, and then look up at the man. "Alaskiel. What are you doing out here?" "Oh, a little of this, a little of that." Alaskiel replied, removing his hand from Gaikou's shoulder. "You know how I love the morbid things." Gaikou froze up; a cold chill ran up her spine. It seemed as if her primary motor functions ceased working and she just shivered. "...Alright, what the hell. Don't touch me. Don't ever touch me-" she stood up, about to throw a punch at the guy- but looking him straight in the eyes caused her to begin almost crying. "...W-Wait...it's you...! I thought you were dead...!" She couldn't believe her eyes; she actually sounded so emotional that it was weird. "That is a good question." Alaskiel shrugged. "After I went into that light...I suddenly wound up here. Jason was kind enough to take me into the guild." With his hat bent over one eye, only one free eye, which was squinted open, looked at Gaikou. "Aren't you happy to see me alive and well, Gaikou Ryuusei?" He spoke her full name as a way to get her attention fully locked. Gaikou was left a mumbling mess; there was no way this was happening. Gaikou clenched her eyes shut and hit Alaskiel in the chest. "You damn idiot--! Why the hell didn't you call or anything!?" She was experiencing a mix of anger, sadness, and relief- they didn't mix well at all. "Just...I wanted to be with you...! I was so happy with you, and you make me worry like that while letting me suffer until now!?" Smack. The sound of her hitting his chest again. She was practically in tears by now. Alaskiel wrapped his arms around her in what was apparently a consoling hug. "You can calm down, I'm back now." Unbeknownst to her, he was smirking slightly, looking at Jason. Jason let out a great sigh. "I'm..." He was glaring slightly at Alaskiel, and his expression clearly read "You're a monster.", but he didn't say it out loud and decided he'd play along and see where this led. "So, you know Alaskiel, Gaikou?" Gaikou nodded rather meekly. "Correct. He was my sex- ER I MEAN EX-boyfriend. Then he supposedly died...and then now he's back..." she glanced away. "...I'm not sure what to do or think here...." "You can be happy I'm back." Alaskiel replied simply, keeping his consoling hold on her. "Or would you like to hit me some more and vent out a bit of your frustration? I can just stand here and let you. I won't feel a thing." Gaikou found this deal rather tempting; She wanted to kick his arse so bad- but she missed him so much. So, instead, she'd just settle with being cranky at him for the next three hours. "...Damn bastard. You'll never change, sadly." She sighed, but instead of smiling, she pulled this little half-smirk that was vaguely upsetting. "...Right, it seems that our competence has now been tripled." Alaskiel chuckled at this. "Seems you're the incompetent one here, Jason." "So it would seem." Jason replied, still frowning. He was never fond of Alaskiel's exploits, but at least it would reign in Gaikou. He just wish he knew who Gaikou was mistaking Alaskiel for. "So, what have you found then, Alaskiel?" "As it would have it..." But before Alaskiel could say anything, the call of "MASTER!!!!!" was coming from behind Jason. Gaikou turned around; her instant good behaviour phase dissipated. "...Stupid bag of nuts and that boob monster. The hell do you want here?" Iris, without any further words, leapt into Jason's arms, crying. "...Ma-master...! At the park...we found co-corpses...!" She quickly devolved into unintelligent blubbering as she bawled her eyes out, completely frightened. Olivia had no shortage in terms of panicking, and she was desperately clinging to Jason. "Jason...mutilated...tree hallow...death...!" Jason quickly wrapped his arms around them both, drawing them in. "Calm yourselves. You have nothing to fear from death and bones. It's fine. I'm am here." Alaskiel smirked and turned to Gaikou. "He says that. Alot." Gaikou crossed her arms. "I see." She turned to Iris, "Anyway, enough playing around. I think it's time for you to show me where all these bodies are. There's no time to waste." Iris was still sniffling and crying as Gaikou grabbed her by the hair roughly. "Well, come on, you stupid idiot!" She yanked her by the hair even more. Jason moved quickly, releasing the girls and gripping Gaikou's wrist. With his free hand, he pried her fingers from Iris' hair, and he looked angry with Gaikou, not letting go of her wrist, his grip getting vice-like. "Try that again and I'll break this." Alaskiel appeared between them both, his hand on Jason's. "I think she gets it." He replied calmly, his odd smile never fading. "Let her wrist go." Jason scowled. He was good at the act, but he obliged. Gaikou scowled at Jason and swatted her hand away from his quickly. "...Tch. Just let's go; there's no time to waste, as I said before. If I have to say something more than once, it means that the listeners are unintellgient." Iris rubbed her head before nodding. "R-Righty-o...." Her head still hurt, but there was more pressing matters to tend to. Before they moved, Jason placed a hand on Iris' head, looking concerned. Or as concerned as his expression, stoic as it was, would allow. "Are you ok?" He asked. Since she had been rubbing her head, it would only right to assume she was in pain. Iris blinked for a second with blank white eyes. "....Y-Yeah. Didn't hurt much...Just that my head keeps ringing. But thanks for the concern..." Gaikou paid no attention to this. "....Stop fooling around." She stomped her foot on the ground. "...Let's just hurry." "Yeah yeah..." Jason replied. "Olivia, Iris, please lead us." "O-of course..." Olivia replied, still nervous, but she and Iris led them both back to the tree hallow they had found. Gaikou explicitly almost threw up at this horrific sight. Again, the rotting flesh filled the air, with a horrible stench. It was almost too much to bear. With the vast abundance of corpse parts being stuck in the wrong places, and internal organs strewn everywhere, it truly was...unique. She moved a little closer and picked up a head with its eyeballs ripped out and jaw torn straight off, remarking, "...Amazing. Just amazing. Though..." She wasn't so sure. But there was one thing she couldn't quite pick up on. Jason and Alaskiel were the only ones who weren't reacting negatively. Olivia and Iris were shuddering and didn't seem to step towards the tree. Alaskiel and Jason had both seen and caused enough situations like this in their lives that it came as no shock at all. Alaskiel walked over to the hallow and looked in, his squinted eyes fulling opening as he took int he sight. "If I had to say anything....these women need a hand." Gaikou couldn't help but giggle as Alaskiel's comment. "Ehehehehehe...." she put on a serious face once again. "But seriously. If this is where the killer is storing the bodies, then he must be around here somewhere..." Iris felt a shiver rush down her spine. "....Ehhh, I wouldn't say things like that. Be careful what you wish for and all..." "Even if he's around, we don't know where he is." Jason looked over the bodies. "So this is what Mr. E meant...he knew that the killer was taking the hands of his female victims..." Gaikou clicked her tongue in exasperation as she picked up even more parts and examined them; "...Right. Okay, this one is still bleeding. This means that..." she handed the arm to Iris. "You can track it back, right?" Iris meekly nodded; she was actually kinda scared of Gaikou now. "...Sure, I guess...." She took the scent up and calmly began to walk north. Gaikou hissed, "Come on...!" and with that, she quickly followed. "Why are you so hellbent on finding this killer?" Jason asked, looking at her as they moved. He was also relaying visual information about the killings they'd just seen to Len, who was receiving it through the transceiver he'd given Jason. "He's just a killer, and of no real concern to you, a writer. Even our guilds haven't notified of his existence before this. Alaskiel just happens to stick his nose in places they shouldn't be." His eyes flashed towards Alaskiel, who gave him the "Sssh" motion behind Gaikou's back. Gaikou snapped, "None of your damn business." Iris prodded and poked at her. She asked like a curious child who did not know when to keep her mouth shut, prodding at something that Gaikou found uncomfortable even thinking about. Every time Gaikou turned away haughtily with her arms crossed, she persisted, jumping in front of her, heckling, "Come on, come on." while invading her personal space. Gaikou snarled, "Urge to kill...rising." However, she suddenly calmed herself and quickly explained, "One of his victims once baby-sat me at her home, on the night he chose her as his newest "girlfriend" donor. She neglected her own safety so she could ensure that I'd be safe- and you can be sure as hell that I'm gonna repay her sacrifice..." There was more to it than that, but she wasn't in the mood for explaining. "I can see she failed to teach you manners." Jason replied dryly. The transceiver was beeping and he could hear Len's voice, relaying him quick information. "I see...that's interesting indeed...if so, it's rather controlled...good work Len, remain on standby." "What was it?" Olivia asked, still mildly shaken. "I sent Len visual data on the bodies we saw, and it would seem the kills are made with Explosion Magic. It gives us even the vaguest idea of who we are up against." Gaikou rolled her eyes. "Such help you are." Of course she was sarcastic about it; she usually was. Iris' ears perked up again. "...We're getting closer...! It's just down that dark alleyway..." Jason caught Iris around the waist. "And this is where we stop." Alaskiel walked to the edge of the alleyway's entrance. "Doesn't this just look fun? Walk into it, suspecting a little tour of the dark, no one notices, you get snatched and possible torn to pieces and no one hears you scream." Gaikou sighed. "...I guess that sums it up." She was extremely tempted to actually just march in there like a total idiot, because revenge came before reason in her mind. Iris just put her hand on Gaikou's shoulder and pulled her back. "Don't be an idiot here-" it was hypocritical coming from her, but still, "-Once false move and he could kill you in a matter of seconds." "This is simple." Alaskiel stepped forward, removing the hat on his head. "I specialize in Memory-Make magic." His hand began to glow. "With it, I can memorize anything, magic, people, even specific points in time are all locked away in my head. When used right, I can create my own little dolls..." He waved his hand, creating a young blonde girl that he met years ago. She stood in a pink, fluttering dress, her eyes blank. "They can function like those I've based them on according to memory. This one, however, was a charming little vegetable I'd met sometime back." Jason's eyes narrowed, before he understood. "I see....that's clever Alaskiel." "What is?" Olivia was puzzled. "All the corpses we saw in the tree hallow we women." Jason explained patiently. "The killer has a thing for women, and this would be the perfect bait." Iris looked at Jason with an expression full of doubt. "...Are you okay with this? That's...evil!" Gaikou nudged her 'gently' with her elbow. "Shut up and let's hope that the bastard takes the bait." As if mentally ordered, the figure of the girl walked into the alley. Her walking was rather shakey, but as dark as it was, it wouldn't be noticed. And if it was, the natural assumption would be that she was limping. This only made it more tempting, the image of wounded prey. Gaikou snarled, "...I don't really care about what little problems you have with this- as long as it gets me what I want." Suddenly, a loud *rumble* sound echoed throughout the area; Gaikou tensed up as she began to leap in- Iris's grip increased on her body, repreimainding her, "Don't think about it- you'll suffer the same fate at that mere memory if you do...!" ...*SCHICKT* A strange explosion reverberated throughout the area; knocking the girl down. Scarlet blood completely smeared these fingers too delicate for a man. The man tore out raw meat that reflected bright red from the girl's stomach. They were intestines. The killer stared intently at the intestines in front of him, then picked up a tuning fork with his left hand and hit it on the wall. The tuning fork emitted a clear sound. Before the clear sound of the tuning completely disappeared, he quickly poked everywhere on the intestines with his right hand. "Ahhh...Haaa..." A seemingly agonizing sound suddenly came out of the darkness. The killer listened carefully to the sound emitted, and nodded satisfactorily after he compared it with the residue echo of the tuning fork. As he spoke, he marked a point on the intestines with a pin. Many similar marks of musical notes have already been made on the incessantly quivering intestine. The intestines seemed to be still alive. To be correct, it seems the owner of the intestines was still alive. The girl who was sobbing incessantly with pain. A horizontal cut was made on her abdomen, and the innards that were dragged out were being fondled with in the killer's hand. Making a living being into a pipe organ to play lamenting music was truly something unique. To make the girl picked as the material not die from massive blood loss or infections, the killer placed a few healing and rejuvenation spells on her body, and specially made some adjustments to prevent the pain from numbing her brain. Before, he had always been frustrated with the fact that a body stops its life-like activities as soon as it encountered a slightly extreme stimulation. But now, with the help of magic, all these previous hurdles were solved easily. Now, the killer could flutter his wings of perception freely, improvising at will. Gaikou could feel her stomach turn at this sight; she clutched her stomach, stuttering in disgust, "...That's morbid..." Iris was on the verge of tears- she couldn't say a word; all she did was clutch onto Jason tightly and begin to sob silently into Jason's chest. Olivia merely collapsed, too shocked for tears to flow, she collapsed at Jason's feet. Jason was currently stuck being the comforter of the two women, rubbing Iris' back as she continued to sob and providing Olivia a stand with which to recover from the sight. Alaskiel's eyes opened, not fully but enough for his gold eyes to be visible. "Excellent. That was quite a sight." He placed a hand on Gaikou's shoulders. "Gaikou, now's your chance. While he's distracted by the doll, have at 'im. Of course, I'll have your back." Gaikou gritted her teeth. "...Right...!" She amassed a faint magical aura on her person and then began to slowly tiptoe towards the killer, as her lithe movements transitioned into a full leap as she drew her sword, which was poised at the killer's throat. Gaikou's breathing was ragged as she gazed straight at her foe while descending, who glanced up emotionlessly. From the width of the figure's shoulders, this was the body of a teenager, completely covered in an armour-like organic-looking bodysuit without any opening. Some parts of the bodysuit were black; without any delicate ornament, with no polished luster. Like darkness, like hell, it was just a bottomless black. The face was also invisible, covered with a brilliant silver helmet covered with dark glass. Behind that glass, there was the ghastly glow of a pair of golden eyes with a glare burning like a flame. This black knight definitely didn't have any "radiance"; the newly appeared black knight had none of it. The darkness around the bodysuit definitely held an oppressive feeling, and their left arm was encased in a huge metal cylinder with a lock to hide something. Raising its hand, the figure easily fended Gaikou off, who was thrown into the ground, before rebounding off the concrete and barely catching herself. "Who in...what the hell are you!?" Alaskiel appeared at her side, his golden eyes glowing. "It seems you never change. I should have told you I'd give a signal." He snapped his fingers, the mangled memory body the killer had torn apart vanished. "Not very smart, fallin' for my bait." He directed his comments at the killer as his grin was plainly visible. "We have some questions. Gonna answer 'em?" His hands began to glow with magic power. "Or will we have to do this the hard way?" The killer made no response and merely raised his arm, releasing a violent wind tunnel of magic towards Alaskiel. With that, he immediately dissapeared into the murky night, fading into the blackness before reappearing behind the green-haired man, with a blade in hand, ready to strike him in 3, 2, 1...! SWISH! He swung the blade down, preparing to slice Alaskiel across the back in the span of a few seconds. Alaskiel didn't turn, and simply twisted his arm to aim his hat behind him, knowing where the killer was coming from. "Memory Make: Wellspring Cave." From the hollow of his hat, he released a giant torrent of water, comparable to a real world fire hose, and as such it packed immense blunt power as well as speed. "It's rude to attack from the back." "...!" The figure was easily thrown back by the sheer pressure the spell possessed; he seemed to be actually harmed by the spell. Effortlessly catching himself, the figure regained his balance, before dissipating into a dozen of other clones which all descended upon Alaskiel without a second thought. "Not too bright, are ya?" Alaskiel mocked him, withdrawing a blade from his sleeve. It was short, a wakizashi of sorts. "Memory-Make: Dancing Serpents." The blade glew white and extended at blinding speeds piercing all the clones in an instant like a snake striking victims, before proceeding to use the flat side as a whip, knocking the killer out of the alley and into broad daylight. The blade contracted in an instant. "Come on." Alaskiel becoked Gaikou, and he followed the killer out into the light. Iris and Olivia still seemed shaken, and Jason was unable to really do anything but comfort them. Gaikou's eyes flashed golden for the briefest of moments as she dashed after the killer, who drew a sword. This sword was katana-like, though it held no luster; incredibly dull. Pivoting his foot, the killer shot forwards like a speeding bullet towards Gaikou, with the intent to skewer her. "...Dammit!" It took Gaikou a few moments to register than her lifelong target was dashing towards her. Quickly shifting her body's position to the left, the young woman barely evaded his strike which pierced the air itself, releasing a shockwave which caused the water to ripple as it shot out to sea. Without any hesitation, the killer spun around, smashing his blade into Gaikou's side. The wickedly curved sword sliced into Gaikou's flesh as if it was tofu; the young woman's body screamed with the attack, and she was beginning to see her own demise, a mere thirty steps ahead. The sound of Gaikou's thigh bone being fractured resounded throughout the air, before a hard footstep cracked through the air. The killer's figure rushed forth with a gust of wind. In the light, Gaikou's own sword barely blocked the killer's blade. In the span of a few seconds, Gaikou and the killer repelled each other at alarming speed, with Gaikou's body about to break down at any moment. Gaikou couldn't even see her foe's movements. The killer wasn't serious at all. But still, it should be easy for him to rip off Gaikou's arms and legs. Gaikou and the killer repelled each other again. Gaikou's body moved without thinking. Her arms and legs, this body, with just the intention of not dying, fended off the killer's body by itself. "Thank you for keeping him occupied, Gaikou." Alaskiel said, taking a stance. "I'll tend to your wounds right after this. Memory-Make...." He began to generate electricity in his hands, raising a clenched fist into the air. He cracked a wide, nearly psycopathic grin as his golden eyes focused on the killer. "Raging Bolt." Descending from the air was a large sphere of cracking lightning. Alaskiel then tugged Gaikou out of the way, moving a safe distance away as the massive sphere of lightning collided with the killer, causing a towering explosion. He wouldn't die, not with the armor, but he would be incapacitated. Gaikou steadied herself. "...Erm, right." She seemed annoyed for some reason- probably because Alaskiel stole her kill. "...Now, let's find out the monster behind the mask." She slowly approached the killer, and leaned down, her fingers spread in order to end it all. Suddenly, the air became chilly. Nevertheless, Gaikou was determined to take off the helmet- the moment that she grabbed ahold of it, the killer began to laugh maniacally; "Aha...Ahaha... AHAAAAAAAhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa!!" All there was was laughter; dissonant, creepy laughter that sent a chill down Gaikou's spine. The killer's eyes were actually glowing; inside his helmet, there were eyes that had a ring with three circular holes in it around the pupil, and a trio of bars stretching out of those rings, with a golden-yellowish iris and sclera. Gaikou leapt back, attempting to remain calm. "...What the...what the hell are you!?" She was actually panicking by now. Iris finally calmed down enough to stand on her own two feet, and Jason bent down to help Olivia up. "Come on." He murmured, helping her to her feet. She obliged, but was still shakey. Jason walked over to the body, and scanned it's visual data, sending it to Len to look over. "Do you know what it is?" Alaskiel asked, since he himself had no idea. "A homonculus." Jason replied, frowning. "Created by the actual killer to serve as a decoy. We've been running in circles, squandering our energy while he made his moves. He's either gotten away, or he's watching." Gaikou glanced around. "...I don't know why, but something doesn't feel right."Indeed she was right- darkened gales surrounded the area as a cold chill rushed down her spine. The sound of insane cackling reverberated through the area as she felt a certain figure lurching closer and closer. This figure suddenly released a blast of pure concussive force; knocking Gaikou into the wall with a loud *THUD!*. As her eyes fluttered open again, she realized that the killer had the appearance of a tall, male adult with black hair and red eyes. He typically dressed in an outfit that consists of black trousers, a tailcoat, and a vest. He was so sharply dressed that it felt like he could cut you just by looking at him. Gaikou stuttered, "Y-You...! Damn bastard, I'll...!" She merely coughed up blood as the killer walked forward unflinchingly, drawing a pair of cutting knives. Gaikou felt a cold sweat rush down her spine as the killer's lips curled to form a sadistic smirk. "Awww…Poor little Gaikou! Doesn't she look just pitiful? That magic that you're carrying and are so damn proud of won't do shit against me! Totally worthless!" Gaikou growled, as the killer continued, "Huh? Are…are you upset? You aren't upset are you, Gaikou? I mean… You've GOTTA know you can't beat me, right? Hm…Maybe I did play a little too hard. But you're just someone else's puppet." Gaikou spat, "…Bastard." The killer smirked, responding, "Hm? Oh, those eyes of yours don't lie, do they? Guess that Exialia already told you, huh…Shoot. Just like her to steal my thunder…" Gaikou hissed, "Just shut the hell up…" as the killer stabbed her in the stomach. As the killer struck Gaikou twice more, Gaikou spat, "You twisted…son of a bitch…!" The killer sighed, "Darn. Well, this is frustrating… Oh, not fighting you! That's, I mean, it's not even a challenge. But that's kinda the problem, you know? Whatever you do, I know you can't win, so I sit on my arse and let you do your thing with your day-to-day life! This is just…kinda boring…And Exialia…Man, does she get my shorts in a knot…" Gaikou snapped, "Screw that…I…I can still fight. I swore to myself…that I'd…never give up…I…I'm going…to fight…to defeat you…until the very end! UNTIL THE VERY END!! So, you degenerate son of a bitch…It's time to 'play'. Bring it on!" The killer threw Gaikou to the ground; her lithe body slamming against the floor the killer grinned like a maniac. "Picked a great time to grow a pair, didn't you!?" STAB. Over and over, the killer stabbed her with his knives like a machine gun, filling her full of holes. "So, you're gonna play with me, huh!? I don't think you know how this shit works!" Again, again, again; more and more slashes impacted upon Gaikou's body, as Gaikou howled in pain while the killer snapped, "Die! Die! DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Being relentless in his assault, the killer never stopped for even the briefest of moments as Gaikou continued to scream in agony. "Yeah, that's it! Go ahead and beg for mercy! Fat lot of good it's gonna do ya, but I do so love to hear the screams of women!" And without warning, Jason's fist collided with the man's jaw as Alaskiel swooped in and picked up Gaikou's bleeding form. "Alaskiel, heal Gaikou. Knowing you, there's a spell in your head somewhere that lets you." Jason removed Gehaburn from his back, the blade gleaming in the light of the sun. "So...you're the killer we've been looking for." It wasn't a question. Jason looked directly at the fallen figure of the man he'd punched. "You're responsible for the bodies in the tree hallow." His eyes were brimming with anger, though his expression was mild. "Get up." Alaskiel waved his hand over Gaikou's body, placing magic bandages over it that allowed the blood to flow regularly through her body as if the wounds weren't there. "This is just first-aid, Gaikou. We'll have to get a genuine healer for you soon. How are you feeling?" Gaikou coughed up blood. "...Ugh, dammit. Let me go...! I can take him on-ack!" She fell back down. The killer suddenly entered a fighting stance; "Oh, you wanna play as well, huh? Then..." WHOOSH! A flash of azure reverberated throughout the air, as he shot forward,throwing a trio of knives at Jason. "Let's dance!" Jason's hand slid through the air, the knives sliding into a neat little row and he moved, chucking all three knives at the man, before jumping up and swing his blade, releasing, very quickly, a large blast of energy from his blade. The killer clicked his tongue in exasperation. "...Tch~" he evaded with a swift movement not unlike something you'd see on a dance contest, He twirled around as if doing a pirouette, before using the momentum gained by his spin to advance on Jason further, hyper-charging one of his knives with explosive energy; from there, he gripped a regular knife and slashed forward at Jason rapidly, hoping to catch him in his powerful onslaught. What the killer didn't know however, is that Jason was angry. Despite Jason's cold demeanor, and even his own murderous tendencies, he wasn't the type to forgive wanton killing. Suddenly, a gust of wind shot by them, blowing the knives away and colliding with the killer, stunning him. Jason, without even turning, knew this was Olivia's work. "So she's worked up her nerve..." Jason dashed forward, holding Gehaburn backwards and swinging the bottom of the hilt at the man's stomach. He wanted to knock him out, he needed had questions this man was going to answer. The killer inched back slightly from this blow. No harm done really; though the moment that Jason's blade made contact, he disappeared from sight and quickly reappeared behind Jason, gripping a hyper-charged knife and swinging it down with all of his might, hoping to actually catch Jason in even a fraction of the blast. Jason was lifted up by a burst of wind and carried into the air. He didn't even have to dodge and watched as the knife stabbed the ground prior to exploding. Olivia smiled up at him as he swung his blade, releasing yet another blast of energy in mid-air down at the killer. The killer raised his eyebrow; as if he were slightly surprised. "...Not bad." Performing a rather unneccessary combat roll, he leapt into the air, as if he were performing a powerful rising punch out of a fighting game. "....But, I'm still faster AND stronger than you, fool!" Jason launched himself down, slamming the flat side of Gehaburn into the killer's stomach with ease, winding him and sending him spiraling down towards the ground. "No. You are neither faster, nor stronger. And judging by how you act, you are not smarter either." He landed on the ground and began to walk towards the body. He would take the man with them, for questioning. The killer gnashed his teeth together in annoyance. "Well, well. It seems that I've worked myself into a terribad situation. So, toodles~" He certainly was cornered here; and he was aware of it. So, in a flash of light, he dissapeared utilizing Teleportation Magic; leaving only a few traces which Iris could pick up on later. Gaikou snarled, "...Damn. Damn, damn, DAMN! DAMN IT ALL!" She continued to scream at the top of her voice in a rage. "I was...SO CLOSE...!!" "Calm down, or your wounds will open." Jason berated her. "I'd rather not have you die while you're my charge." Alaskiel eyed him. He let out a knowing chuckle, though Jason paid it no attention. He looked at where the killer had left. "...It seems we have a new enemy to worry about..." END